HopeLine® from Verizon Begins Domestic Violence Awareness Month with "Journey of Hope" Community Tour, Text to Donate Campaign and More

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Nearly one in four women will be the victim of domestic violence and nearly three out of four Americans know someone who has been a victim of domestic violence. Verizon Wireless through HopeLine® from Verizon is helping consumers spread awareness about domestic violence and aid in its prevention during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and year-round. This October, everyone has several options to join in and make a difference with Verizon Wireless.

Join our Journey of Hope

Verizon, through HopeLine from Verizon, and the NNEDV have teamed up for a cross-country bus tour, “Journey of Hope,” to collect and share the stories of people affected by domestic violence and those who are passionate about ending it. The public is invited to join us in eight cities across the country to share their stories of hope and perseverance – uniting and inspiring the public to play an active role in ending domestic violence.

Increase Awareness in the Workplace

The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV) and Verizon Wireless joined forces to increase employer and employee awareness of domestic violence as a workplace issue and are offering tools to respond to it through the CAEPV HopeLine from Verizon Webinar Series, which will run through December 2011. For more information on the webinar series, please visit: http://www.caepv.org/about/program_detail.php?refID=70.

Text to Donate and Other Initiatives to Support Domestic Violence Victims

In addition to these initiatives, Verizon Wireless offers several interactive ways for consumers to take a stand against domestic violence this October. Customers can join the Text to Donate campaign by texting “HOPE” to 41010 to make a one-time, $10 donation to NNEDV, the largest network of state domestic violence coalitions in the nation. Donations will support NNEDV’s awareness and prevention efforts and provide domestic violence victims with necessary resources and information. Verizon will waive text messaging fees and 100 percent of each $10 donation will go to NNEDV. The $10 donation will appear on customers’ next regular monthly bill as a part of the text-to-donate campaign.

Through Oct. 31, consumers can also give back to domestic violence victims and survivors by adding their photos to Verizon’s first digital hashtag art piece celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, available at www.hashtagart.com/verizonhispanicheritage. For every photo that is added, HopeLine will donate $1, up to $50,000, to Casa de Esperanza, a national organization working to end domestic violence in the Latino community.

Verizon Wireless continues to raise awareness through the Samsung Intensity™ II in Purple. The color purple has symbolized anti-domestic violence efforts for more than 20 years.

Share These Videos and Help Bring Domestic Violence into the Light

“Monsters in the Closet,” produced and funded by the Verizon Foundation and supported by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, is a short animation that portrays the alarming impact of domestic violence on families and children, as seen through the eyes of a young girl. “Monsters” encourages the public to get involved in domestic violence prevention and education efforts, and if needed, call for help: 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233). Verizon Wireless customers can quickly reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline by dialing #HOPE.

Verizon is also continuing to spread the word of “Telling Amy’s Story,” a PBS documentary developed by Penn State and funded by the Verizon Foundation. The documentary video follows the timeline of a domestic violence homicide - of a Verizon Wireless employee – that occurred in Nov. 2001.

“Verizon Wireless has a long history of taking a stand against domestic violence,” said Marquett Smith, vice president, corporate communications, Verizon Wireless. “Through our efforts, we hope to make a difference for domestic violence victims and survivors, and continue to provide vital resources for support.”

“We are proud to partner with Verizon on these amazing initiatives to end domestic violence,” said Sue Else, president of NNEDV. “Verizon’s longstanding commitment to this issue is literally helping to save lives during this Domestic Violence Awareness Month and every day of the year.”

Through HopeLine, Verizon’s phone recycling program, the company collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any carrier and puts them to work in the community by turning them into support for domestic violence survivors. Phones collected through HopeLine recycling drives are either refurbished and sold or recycled, and proceeds are donated to organizations that work against domestic violence in the form of cash grants and prepaid Verizon Wireless phones for survivors.

Since HopeLine from Verizon’s national cell phone recycling and reuse program launched in 2001, Verizon Wireless has awarded more than $10 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations throughout the country and distributed more than 106,000 phones with more than 319 million minutes of free wireless service to be used by victims of domestic violence. To find out how HopeLine is changing the world, one cell phone at a time, check out the Verizon Wireless YouTube channel.